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06-29-2010, 01:43 PM   #31
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QuoteQuote:

What does this have to do with anything?

Frankly, I don't care how you use or abuse your camera. I just don't think it's a good idea to have other people use your little sensor cleaning technique. Perhaps I've been too vocal about it but it seems other people back me on my opinions in regard to the efficacy of your methods.
It doesn't have anything to do with anything, I was just responding to GeneV who just assumed I was a guy.

I can't go out and buy a $5 rocket blower here. I'm on an Antarctic island 1500 miles from the nearest land. And blowers don't always get rid of the dust. At least we have another user who also uses cotton buds with no problems, so it seems I'm not the only crazy one. I just said what works for me, I don't see why you need to be so rude.

06-29-2010, 02:01 PM   #32
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QuoteOriginally posted by kari Quote
It doesn't have anything to do with anything, I was just responding to GeneV who just assumed I was a guy.
Posters on this board are from all over the world and have names from all kinds of languages. If you've been here a while, you pretty much give up on guessing gender from a name. For whatever reason, the vast majority of the posters here are male, so I went with the default. My bad and I apologize.
06-29-2010, 03:31 PM   #33
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QuoteQuote:
At least we have another user who also uses cotton buds with no problems, so it seems I'm not the only crazy one. I just said what works for me, I don't see why you need to be so rude.
And there are at least 2 of us who can breathe without spitting :-)
06-29-2010, 04:10 PM   #34
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When you said "ear bud" I thought you meant the foam cover from an in-the-ear headphone. Is ear bud the proper generic name for a Q-tip?

http://site.spyville.com/ear-bud-mini-camera-1.jpg

06-29-2010, 05:34 PM   #35
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QuoteOriginally posted by kxr4trids Quote
When you said "ear bud" I thought you meant the foam cover from an in-the-ear headphone. Is ear bud the proper generic name for a Q-tip?

http://site.spyville.com/ear-bud-mini-camera-1.jpg
That is what I thought she meant as well--an earphone that had been in her ear collecting wax. That is one reason I thought she couldn't be serious about that suggestion.
06-29-2010, 10:30 PM   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by davidvandoren Quote
You guys sound like these people in Russia that got locked up in a container mission to Mars.

@auspentax
What happened to your sensor? Did a bird shit into your camera or why do you use windex to clean it?

Yeah if you are the guy who uses his camera in Afghanistan, may consider the dust
spots, the scratches from the ear tips, or the bullets flying near your head.

However for all the others I think it's best said not to use any funny things on your sensor.
Also 170$ is very expensive. Get the cleaning Kid instead and do it yourself. Or get a Blower.
Also dust does not = dust. There might be dust that melts when the sensor is overheated. Therefor if you do have dust on your sensor do not use live-view or the video function. Better get rid of the dust first.

By the way never point your camera towards the sun in live or video mode.

I believe I said this :

It's horses for courses, works for me, but does not mean it's right for you

So why bother commenting D'oh !

BTW, if you discovered what is in half the the expensive cleaners you wouldn't use them either.

Last edited by auspentax; 06-30-2010 at 06:49 AM.
06-30-2010, 05:56 AM   #37
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QuoteOriginally posted by SpecialK Quote
And there are at least 2 of us who can breathe without spitting :-)
I seem to remember from high school biology that when we would breathe on a sterile Petri dish and let it sit a few days, we found there was a lot more than pure air and water in our breath.

06-30-2010, 08:04 AM   #38
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After being chastised by a mod for going off, I feel I need to explain my position clearly for everyone. The Pentax Forum is one of the most popular sites on the web. Googling any Pentax terms will yield the Pentax Forum as one of the top if not the top hit, so it's important that people aren't misled by faulty information on how to clean the sensor. Most people do not know just how sensitive that little piece of hardware is and using your breath and ear bud is just plain wrong. I can't believe there are actually people arguing for it. Once you've damaged your sensor, that is it. You can not repair it, only replace it at a ridiculous fee. It is not covered under warranty.

No matter how careful you are while breathing on your sensor, you will get saliva and other junk onto your sensor. It may be minuscule and unnoticeable but it is there. Once in a while, you will even get a big wad of saliva out, it's inevitable. You can pretend that's not the case with you because your breath is magical and you're perfect. While you're at it, you can also make the case that you don't fart and burp either. If anyone has ever used a respirator before, they know it tends to smell a bit funky after heavy use, it's not just condensed water out of your breath. Maybe the breath technique will work for you a few times but you're playing Russian Roulette and it's not worth it. I've never needed more than a few blasts from a $10 rocket blower to clean out sensor dust. Common techniques to clean sensors include using rocket blowers, ordering specialized cleaning kits or letting the professionals handle it. Do your research of course, because $170 is a steep price, most places should do it for $50 or so.

I'm fairly positive *she* didn't mean a q tip since the whole premise was "clumsy cleaning techniques" that didn't require specialized tools. An ear bud is an object more commonly found on a person than a q tip. Also, when did an earbud become slang for q tips? Earbuds come in variable consistencies, perhaps *she* is lucky that her earbud is also made of microfiber material but there's no guarantee that your earbud is up to par.
06-30-2010, 08:33 AM   #39
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QuoteOriginally posted by hangu Quote
After being chastised by a mod for going off, I feel I need to explain my position clearly for everyone. The Pentax Forum is one of the most popular sites on the web. Googling any Pentax terms will yield the Pentax Forum as one of the top if not the top hit, so it's important that people aren't misled by faulty information on how to clean the sensor. Most people do not know just how sensitive that little piece of hardware is and using your breath and ear bud is just plain wrong. I can't believe there are actually people arguing for it. Once you've damaged your sensor, that is it. You can not repair it, only replace it at a ridiculous fee. It is not covered under warranty.

No matter how careful you are while breathing on your sensor, you will get saliva and other junk onto your sensor. It may be minuscule and unnoticeable but it is there. Once in a while, you will even get a big wad of saliva out, it's inevitable. You can pretend that's not the case with you because your breath is magical and you're perfect. While you're at it, you can also make the case that you don't fart and burp either. If anyone has ever used a respirator before, they know it tends to smell a bit funky after heavy use, it's not just condensed water out of your breath. Maybe the breath technique will work for you a few times but you're playing Russian Roulette and it's not worth it. I've never needed more than a few blasts from a $10 rocket blower to clean out sensor dust. Common techniques to clean sensors include using rocket blowers, ordering specialized cleaning kits or letting the professionals handle it. Do your research of course, because $170 is a steep price, most places should do it for $50 or so.

I'm fairly positive *she* didn't mean a q tip since the whole premise was "clumsy cleaning techniques" that didn't require specialized tools. An ear bud is an object more commonly found on a person than a q tip. Also, when did an earbud become slang for q tips? Earbuds come in variable consistencies, perhaps *she* is lucky that her earbud is also made of microfiber material but there's no guarantee that your earbud is up to par.
And yet you continue your snarky comments. Do you Really expect anyone to take you seriously? Her assessment of you is correct but of course, you know everything so your word is gospel and never to be challenged regardless of how you present it, Right? What a bag.
06-30-2010, 09:30 AM   #40
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QuoteOriginally posted by hangu Quote
I'm fairly positive *she* didn't mean a q tip since the whole premise was "clumsy cleaning techniques" that didn't require specialized tools. An ear bud is an object more commonly found on a person than a q tip. Also, when did an earbud become slang for q tips?
Could be a regional thing. I'll bet "Q Tips" don't even exist in all countries in the world. I'd suggest giving her the benefit of the doubt here.

FWIW, I agree that the proposed method - even with a "Q Tip" - is probably not the best method. But given her location (a remote Antarctic island?!?!), I'm with her (figuratively) - you take what you can get.
06-30-2010, 10:08 AM   #41
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Dont do this

Kari, your advice is scary - wiping the sensor with an earbud is high risk living. One microscopic scratch and your sensor becomes an ornament. An earbud is not a soft surface free of microparticles of abrasive dust.

There are three well recommended ways to clean a sensor - wiping condensed breath off it with an earbud is is not one of those ways.

1) Arctic butterfly electrostatic brush - it attracts the dust off the sensor.

2) Spraying clean, filtered air against the sensor - blows dust off but dust sometimes just resettles on the sensor.

3) Wet cleaning with a special swab and cleaning liquid - best way to get a 'deep clean'.
06-30-2010, 10:24 AM   #42
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QuoteOriginally posted by Marc Sabatella Quote
Could be a regional thing. I'll bet "Q Tips" don't even exist in all countries in the world. I'd suggest giving her the benefit of the doubt here.

FWIW, I agree that the proposed method - even with a "Q Tip" - is probably not the best method. But given her location (a remote Antarctic island?!?!), I'm with her (figuratively) - you take what you can get.
Fair enough about the regional difference.

Look, if you can get access to a Pentax DSLR, lenses, earbuds and the internet, a rocket blower probably isn't any more difficult to get. It just means shipping is more expensive and will take longer.

Her original advice had no mention of her remote location and it sounded like it was advice for the average photographer. That's why I came down on it hard. There's no reason for 99% of people to go that route in cleaning sensors.

QuoteOriginally posted by JeffJS Quote
And yet you continue your snarky comments. Do you Really expect anyone to take you seriously? Her assessment of you is correct but of course, you know everything so your word is gospel and never to be challenged regardless of how you present it, Right? What a bag.
My methods were wrong but my point has been spot on. If you're still feeling hurt about my pointing out that your photo was blurry because of user error in another thread, please take it to PM.
06-30-2010, 10:50 AM   #43
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There's no need to go to PM. It will take far more than you'll ever have to hurt me. I can deal with someone talking about my photos just fine. Wouldn't post them if I couldn't. You make assumptions when you lack knowledge, and when someone disagrees with you, out comes the name calling and offhanded snarky remarks. Your methods are typical across the board, and my question to you was, Do you really expect anyone to take you seriously? Your response to that was again, Typical of you're posting in this thread.

06-30-2010, 12:38 PM   #44
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QuoteOriginally posted by hangu Quote
Fair enough about the regional difference.

Look, if you can get access to a Pentax DSLR, lenses, earbuds and the internet, a rocket blower probably isn't any more difficult to get. It just means shipping is more expensive and will take longer.
I bought those things before I got to the island. You can't order anything from here, the research vessel drops you off and picks you up again in a year's time. I did not realise how easy it is to get dust on the sensor, so meanwhile I make do with what I have.

I googled q-tips, and yes, that's what I'm using. We just call them ear buds. Apparently there is a rapper called Q-tip as well.

Anyway, I think it's probably not best to tempt fate so unless a bird shits on my sensor or something, I'll just edit the dust pecks out in PP. I find that you generally can't spot dust unless you're shooting against a uniform background like the sky anyway.
06-30-2010, 01:13 PM   #45
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